Tomato Update...

Well, yesterday, I had to dig up and bring the tomatoes back into the house. Not sure if I can save them. Apparently, our weather really put some damage on the baby plants. The winds were really high and pretty hard. The sun, I thought, didn't seem that warm, but I think it put a toll them too.

I dug them up and put then into another container with soil. Hopefully, they will revive :-(. They look really, really sad and very pale. (Sorry for the mess in the background :-D)

Tomatoes!

The kids transplanted their tomato plants yesterday. It went very well. I need to put their name tags on them so we know whose is whose. It was a simple project that I had been promsing to do with them for a very long time. I'm glad I "finally" got to it. I'm not sure a few of them will make it. They seem to be in shock, whilting a little bit. We just have to hope for the best.

I had a little boy drop in for 2 days. My fellow day care provider went on a cruise with her own family and one of her parents needed care while she was gone. Seems I get a lot of boys...lol! He fit right in and transitioned very well. He is 4 years old and my older boys are both 5 years old. Then I have a 3 year old boy and another 4 year old boy. Yes, I do have a 2 year old little girl (poor thing, she's the only girl...lol! She hangs in there pretty good!) and, of course, my 18 month old grandson.

The mom of this boy has just gone through a separation from her 2nd husband who was quite abusive. I feel sorry for this mom because she has a childhood of abuse. I can see in her eyes, in some respects, that she is still the age she was when the abuse occurred. She is still very much friends with this man and I am so afraid that she may return to him.

Without therapy, how do you teach someone to break that generational pattern of abuse? She has 2 teenage daughers and 1 teenage boy in addition to her 4 year old son. The chance that they are learning her behaving is pretty high. We won't know until they form their own relationships.

Situations like these bother me so much. If I were in my field as a family therapist, I'd be in a position to help more. However, being a day care provider, I am not equipped to open such a can of worms with these parents. All I can do is be an ear for them to talk to. Can only pray for them.

Positive thoughts and prayers.....for real!

The Kids

Today, we had an awesome lesson! The kids were really focused and made a lot of progress. I haven't done lesson with them in a while because I think we were both getting frustrated. I'm not a "preschool". I'm just a "day care". However, it would be nice if the kids can do something besides play most of the day.

It takes a lot of organizing and structure with such a broad range of ages. The babies really keep me going on circles, so it makes it much more difficult to set a schedule for their lesson. Today, my grandson was out most of the day with his mom and the 5 month old baby simply had a good day ....lol! It was soooo refreshing to do lesson without hussling and feeling rushed just in case a baby should throw a tantrum.

I would really like to do lesson everyday. I once mentioned, back in San Diego when I did day care, we did lessons just like a preschool. I had my toddlers/preschoolers ready for kindergarden when the time came. It was quite rewarding. Today's kindergarden requirements make my curriculum outdated. Not quite sure how to get them prepared today. By trade, I am not a teacher. Teaching preschool lesson is a lot different than teaching "school" lessons.

At any rate, it was a wonderful day! :-D

Positive thoughts and prayers!....for lots more days like today!

Teenagers

One of my day care parents is quite frustrated with her teenage boy. He just doesn't seem to get it. She has tried everything from stripping his room of all electronics, to only letting him wear two outfits a week (he is a fashion nut), to not letting him go to Knotts Berry Farm for his birthday. Yet, he still doesn't get it. He has 14 "Fs" in math and a "D-" in physical ed.

I've had my share of frustrations with my 3 boys. I can relate to what she is feeling. What is a parent to do when her child just isn't getting it? People often say, discipline begins at home. That may very well be true, however, when one is doing all one can do and nothing is working, what else can be done? This mom is thinking about home schooling in order to discontinue her son's social network. I think that might be a good idea, however, what if he doesn't respect the home school teacher? What if he refuses to focus and do his work then?

How helpless she must feel....

Positive thoughts and prayers

Last Night's Scare

Last night, I was laying in bed, trying to relax before going to sleep. Lately, my feet have been randomly cramping pretty often. It happens to me from time to time. I needed to get up, I forget what for. As I sat up, my back went into a spasm. Two days ago, I went to pick up the baby and I felt it go right then and there. So, I was aware of it. Usually, I wait for the spasm to stop which is what I did this time.

As the spasm subsided, my thigh began to cramp! At first, I stopped moving thinking it would subside as my feet do. Well, that so wasn't the case at all! The cramp go really, really bad! I couldn't put my leg down. I couldn't straighten it out. I ended up in the very edge of the bed and I couldn't even scoot myself back onto the bed! It went from my inner thigh down to my knee. Every time I tried to move, it shifted. At one point, it tried to go down to the back of my lower leg, then through to my toes. I quickly shifted my body very slightly to stop that direction. However, my thigh was really, really bad.

I began having difficulty breathing. I'm not sure if it was due to a side effect of the cramp being that it was so very severe or if I was panicking. I remember my aunt once told me that when your foot cramps, to get to a cold floor and it would relieve the cramp. So, virtually in tears, in the mist of my panic, I called my 15 year old son and had him to get a bag of ice from downstairs. It seemed like forever! I still couldn't completely sit or stand. Just couldn't move and the pain was horrendous!

He finally made it upstairs and I put the bag of ice on my thigh. It took a few minutes...again seemed like forever, but the pain slowly began to subside. It took even longer for my breathing to settle down. While holding the ice on my thigh, my oldest son called. He mentioned some possible causes such as not enough dark green veggies, high choloresterol, etc.

I know I need to have a physical, but it is difficult to do without medical insurance. Yes, it is quite scary not having insurance. I was born and raised on Kaiser Permanente. I lost my insruance when I lost my job. In fact, I just called them last friday because I received a notice in the mail from them. I called to see if they had adjusted their rates, which they had. They increased them by almost $75 more per month.

Yes, I am quite concerned. I thought the cramps were due to the back spasms because I feel them in my hips as well. I don't want to panic. My resources are quite limited at this point. I can get a blood test at $138. They can tell a lot of things from our blood. Perhaps I will look into that.

Postive thoughts and prayers!

Today....

I need to cook today so I can take my oldest boy some food to get through his week. His budget is tight this week. I told him I'd cook him some food to safe on his grocery bill. He's done well the past few weeks. His job didn't give him many hours this past week so his pay check was fairly small.

Thing is, I will do anything for my kids. However, I do not like to cook...lol! Being the youngest of 3 girls, being quite the spoiled child I was, I was the only one my mom did not make learn how to cook. I do think it is more to it than that though.

You see, when you have 4 kids that truly eat very well and quite abundantly, cooking can be a chore! I must cook in pretty large quantities only for the food to be devoured quite quickly...lol! That means, I must start all over again, trying to figure out what to cook that will stretch. Not to mention they eventually complain that they want me to cook something "different." There came a time, I simply stopped cooking. Yes, I bought the groceries, but they were truly on thier own. They do know how to cook. They will actually pull out cook books and create a meal. After a few years of mom not cooking, they began asking for specific meals.

This son, my oldest boy, he wasn't one to complain about mom's cooking. He, like their father, loves to eat. I think he enjoys eating for the sake of eating....lol! He is very tall and lean, like their father. They both have a very high metabolism, so gaining weight is not an issue. They love flavor and the act of eating...lol!

So, though I do not enjoy cooking, I take pleasure in being there for my boy :-). I'm going to bake some chicken and make some mac & cheese with some green beans or broccoli. Just turned on the oven so it can warm up. It's a little chilli this morning and looks a big gray outside. Loving the weather. A good time to bake some chicken.

Positive thoughts and prayers....:-)

The Blank...

Lately, I haven't been blogging very much because I feel like I was becoming so negative. As I think about it though, isn't that what blogging is about? Isn't it about expressing what's on our hearts and minds, literally? Isn't a place where we release things that bother us?

I began blogging because I was at a point in my life where I was extremely lonely, depressed and very, very discouraged. My daughter suggested that I blog as a way of annonmously journaling. I had, still do not have, any real support system. Blogging has been so awesome for me. It is a wonderful place to express happiness, sadness, anger, fear, doubt, laughter, etc.

A lot of times, my mind goes blank and I just can't seem to get my thoughts together. I do alot intropection of myself and my life. My sister once told me that I think too much. Not sure there is such a thing...lol! I think alot about the "whys" in life. Sometimes, it becomes quite overwhelming, which brings me down, sometimes makes me quite sad. I focus a great deal on how I can be a better person, improve my personality and my interaction with people.

My cousin is home now. Physically, he is doing well. Mentally, I personally believe he is in early stages of demensia or Alzhiemers disease. Whether or not it's hereditary, it occurs quite often in my family. Makes me wonder if it's something in our diets, our culture of food. We are considering both further medical appts and a referral for a psych evaluation.

Well, that's enough pondering for me for today.

Positive thoughts and prayers.